Taking the Fall
by Jade Stewart
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas grow to be like brothers after their initial meeting in Captives.


Title: Taking the Fall

Author: Celebrian Helyanwë

Email: elf-friend@SAFe-mail.net

Summary: Set shortly after the end of Homecoming. Bandits have been seen near Mirkwood's border. Elrond and Thranduil fear that they may intend an attack on Mirkwood or her allies. Aragorn leaves to investigate and Legolas insist on following him. Aragorn gathers the information needed to save their next target and end their threat. But when Legolas is caught meeting Aragorn, will the whole mission be for nothing?

Spoilers: Captives in the Land of Iron, and Homecoming, I don't think there are any others.

Rating: R for implied rape

Author's Note: The incident with the peppermint at the end is taken from a post in Cele's rpg. I merely borrowed the idea.

_"Legolas," Aragorn objected. "This is not your job. You don't need to do this. I can do it. I'm human; I can blend in with them. You're an elf; you can't. Your father needs you, mellon nin. Don't risk this, please."_

_"Strider, I want, I need to do this," Legolas countered. "You risked your life to save me and bring me home. I owe you this! I'm coming with you, at least until you meet up with them."_

Aragorn fretted within as he paced the floor of his room. He should have made Legolas stay behind in Mirkwood. He would not have needed an accomplice to send messages to Elrond and Thranduil. Legolas had refused to return when Aragorn joined the bandits. Aragorn was worried about him. What if Legolas was caught before Aragorn could meet him?

In his mind, he knew that was all irrelevant, now. He knew where the bandits would attack next. Soon, he would sneak out of the camp, meet Legolas and leave to collect the regiment. The only ones awake in the cave were the guards. However, the nagging fear would not leave his heart.

Aragorn grabbed his sword. It was time to go. He stole out of the cave silently. It was quite difficult to get out without waking anyone, for there were men sleeping all over the floor of the hall where they had fallen asleep after their brawl. Several times, he almost tripped over the men in the dim light.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Aragorn left the cave behind, meandering as though he was merely taking a walk. He met Legolas not far from the bandit's encampment. However, when Legolas saw him, the elf drew his knives, which surprised Aragorn greatly. Legolas attacked him as he approached the elf. Aragorn quickly drew his sword to parry Legolas' knife-strokes. "Legolas, I don't understand," he whispered over their blades. Despite all Aragorn's attempts to avoid it, he and Legolas were both slightly wounded by the time Legolas finally spoke to him. "I'm going to wound to your shoulder," the elf whispered so softly that Aragorn could barely hear him. "When I do, cry   
out and collapse, clutching the wound. I'll try not to hurt you too much."

Aragorn had barely taken in the prince's strange words when Legolas did just what he said he would. The dunadan followed the elf prince's directions instinctively. Inside, though, he wondered what was going on with the elf. He has thought they were friends, but now it seemed as though the prince was turning on him. Had he misread the elf's attitudes to him? Before he could think anymore, however, he heard a man speaking. Legolas answered, sounding frightened. The world around Aragorn started spinning and fading as he lay. He felt someone picking him up and carrying him as he closed his eyes.

********

Aragorn awoke back in his room. Someone had bound the wounds Legolas had given him during their fight. He saw no sign of the elf, though. Then he heard it. The bandits were interrogating someone, probably a captive. "Why were watching us?" a bandit demanded. "I thought I saw something moving as I was passing by this morning and returned tonight to investigate," came the reply. Apparently, the captive was an elf. The voice sounded familiar, but Aragorn's mind was too foggy to place it. He felt as if he had been drugged. The dunadan wondered if the elf had not coated his knife with some sedative. He knew he could not think clearly. His mind felt like it was filled with unspun wool. "What did you attack Strider for? And don't say he attacked you. I was there. I saw you do it," the questioning continued. So the elf was Legolas. Suddenly, everything made sense to Aragorn. Legolas had attacked him to protect him! He had seen that Aragorn had been followed and had forced the fight so that the ranger would not loose his cover. Aragorn cringed. This was all his fault. If he'd been more careful, Legolas would be free and safe now! "He had seen me," the elf prince replied. "Besides, he was just a mortal." Aragorn closed his eyes and tried to block the rest of the interrogation out. He could not bare to think of Legolas going through this for him.

********

The leader of the bandits and another of the bandits held the bound elf prince by the arms. Legolas hid his fear, but it was still there. These were men, after all. He closed his eyes as he thought of how his friend had freed him from the last men that had taken him captive and the price Aragorn had payed for it. "Besides, he was just a mortal," he heard himself say. Those words made him feel like a traitor, but he couldn't think of any other reason to give. And that would have been his perspective if it hadn't been Aragorn that had rescued him. He hoped that the dunadan couldn't hear him.

The captain of the band was outraged at that statement. "Just a mortal, eh?" he roared. "Well then, you shall see how much pain mere mortals can inflict. Boys, he's all yours! Do what you want with him, but don't kill him. Yet." With that, he shoved the young elf forward into the midst of the men and left. It took all of Legolas' self control not to cower. He could no longer hide his fear. He struggled to get away as he felt their hands rip his tunic. "No!" he screamed in terror.

********

Aragorn groaned and rolled onto his side as he heard the prince's scream. He slammed his fist against the wall, bitter desperation eating at his heart. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe his friend was taking the fall for him like this... not when they all knew what it would cost. And he would not be able to do anything. It wasn't like in Anganor. It had been the other way around, there. That did not bother him, but this did. Even in Anganor, the men and orcs had not been as corrupted as these bandits were. Not even Lathgrim! If they did what they had done to others Aragorn had heard about, the elf would die!

********

Thranduil gripped his the arms of his throne. The throne room vanished from before his eyes. Instead, he saw his son, bound, naked and bleeding, surrounded by maybe fifty men. Thranduil could see the tears that streaked his son's face. One man flicked a whip across the young prince's chest. Legolas whimpered in pain. "So, are we still mere mortals, elven scum?" the man taunted. Thranduil collapsed against the back of the chair, sobbing, as the scene faded away and he found himself back in his court. "Legolas," he whispered, heart-broken. "How could they do this to you, ion nin?"

Elrond was listening to a question from Laigaladh when they noticed Thranduil slump in his seat. Elrond turned to his friend in shock. It was Laigaladh who spoke first. "Adar? Ada!" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "Are you well?" Thranduil blinked and slowly turned to look at her. "Thranduil?" Elrond put his hand on the elven king's arm. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Thranduil shook his head numbly. "Legolas," he murmured brokenly. "They have taken him." Elrond caught him as he collapsed in tears. Laigaladh gasped. "They?" she asked. "The bandits he and Estel were tracking? How could that happen? Estel was the one doing the infiltrating, not Legolas." Thranduil grasped her hand as he answered. "I don't know how it happened," he whispered. "But it did!"

********

Aragorn staggered to his feet. He had to see Legolas and he had to see him alone. His guilt was torturing him. The men had wearied of tormenting the elf and seemed to have fallen asleep. The sedative was finally wearing off, Aragorn noticed. It had taken hours, but he could finally stand without the whole world spinning like a top every time he did so. He walked carefully to the main hall of the cave. As he thought, no one was awake. Looking around, he saw the prince huddled at the other end of the room. The young elf's aura seemed less bright   
than usual, somehow. That alarmed Aragorn. He stumbled over to his friend as fast as he could. "Legolas!" he whispered. That was when he realized what Legolas had been put through. "Legolas, please, it's me!" he whispered urgently. The elf did not respond. Aragorn put his hand on his friend's shoulder. Legolas trembled. "Please, mellon nin, I won't harm you!" the dunadan whispered, horrified at the young elf's reaction. Legolas sobbed quietly. Estel reached out his other hand to bring the elf's face where he would see the human's face. "Legolas, please hold on," he whispered as the prince finally recognized him. "For your father and for me, don't let go! I'll die of guilt if you do! Please, Legolas, I need you! Le gwador nin, aranion!" Aragorn was desperate.

Legolas nodded his head, understanding what Aragorn was saying. He would have felt the same way had their places been reversed. He also knew what Aragorn had just done for him unwittingly. The human had given him something to hold on to. "Don't worry, mellon nin," he said. "I will survive this, I promise!"Aragorn noticed that the elf's glow brightened slightly at the moment.

********

Aragorn groaned as he lowered himself back onto his bed. Legolas had promised him that he would survive, but that didn't taken the bandits' hate into account. If Aragorn didn't intervene, they would kill the elf. Somehow, Aragorn had to get Legolas out of their hands before they harmed the prince beyond anyone's power to save him.

********

Thranduil faced his guards and the patrols. "Comb the woods," he told them. "We know they are here somewhere. Don't fight them on your own, though. There are too many of them for one patrol." Thranduil swept his gaze over all the elves their. "The Valar be with."

********

Thirel lifted the bandages on Aragorn's wounded shoulder. To his surprise, the wounded man opened his eyes and looked at him coherently. "Strider!" he gasped. "You– you're awake! How this be?" Aragorn shook his head. "The wound isn't that bad," he shrugged, wincing as he moved his injured shoulder. "I fainted last night because the blade was poisoned." Thirel's eyes widened. "Poisoned?" he asked. "Where's the blade? I need to find the antidote!" Aragorn shook his head again. "None needed," he countered. "I recognized it when it started taking effect. If it was going to kill me, I'd have died during the night." "How do you know?" Thirel asked. Aragorn rolled his eyes. "I'm a warrior and a healer, you know. This is not the first time I've felt the effects of that particular poison," he replied. It was quite true, although the drug was not a poison at all. Elrond had drugged him with it after the human had fallen off the roof in Rivendell and broken his ankle. "By the way, where's that elf?" he asked. Thirel shrugged his shoulders. "In the main hall," he replied. "Why?" Aragorn rolled his eyes. "Because he attacked me and poisoned me so I want to be the one that takes it out of him!" he said fiercely. Thirel sighed. "Well, he insulted the others last night, so they already dealt with him about that." Aragorn nodded his head, his eyes hardening in anger and guilt over what they had done to his friend. Thirel, of course, thought Aragorn's anger was directed at the elf. "Then he should be mine for the rest of his life," the dunadan stated. "Not that it will be long." Thirel smiled sadly. "I'm sure Orfin will agree to that," he mused.

********

Glaslir stood hidden among the trees of his homeland. He saw humans hidden in the trees not far ahead. They were not rangers. His search was over. These were the ones who had taken Legolas. He put his fingers to his lips, giving the signal that the search was over. He would stay and keep watch until help arrived.

********

Legolas stumbled as he was kicked and shoved into the small room. "Stop that!" he heard someone object. "That's my privilege, and mine alone!" The elf groaned. He knew he couldn't take any further torment. Someone shoved him forward, throwing him off his feet onto the ground. Legolas felt the blood streaming from his nose as he landed on his face. He did not move. It hurt too much. He heard footsteps as men left the room and then the door closed, leaving him alone with whoever had been in the room when he entered. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see his new tormenter. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and a familiar voice whispered in his ear. He looked up into a man's face. To his surprise, it was Aragorn. The dunadan smiled. "I couldn't leave you out there," he whispered. "You don't have to worry about them anymore. I'll be able to take care of you this way. You're safe now."

********

Glaslir smiled with relief as he saw the rest of the patrols join him. "He's in there," he whispered. His captain looked at him, obviously questioning how he knew this. "They spoke of him," he explained quickly. "Then the human must be there, as well," the captain surmised. "We must get them both out. You remember Anganor. If one's in trouble, the other will not be far away." He turned to the other elves. "Stay here," he ordered. "Glaslir and I are going in. Do nothing unless we are discovered. Feinlas, Tirin, can you hand us the spare cloaks you brought? We're going to need them."

The elven patrols watched as Glaslir and Bregosir walked carefully through the humans, unseen because their cloaks hid them. Every elf there held his breath waiting, hoping to see them return with their prince and his human friend.

********

Legolas held his breath as Aragorn tended his wounds as best he could. The human knew how hard it was for him not to cry out with pain. It broke Estel's heart to see his friend in this predicament because of him. Just then, he heard a light tap on the door. He quickly stopped what he was doing and rushed to the door. He opened it a crack. There were two figures standing there. "Aragorn!" one whispered. "We finally found you!" Estel gasped as he realized that these two were Silvan elves. "Come in," he whispered. "And quickly." He shut the door behind them and resumed cleaning Legolas' wounds. "He is badly wounded," he explained. "He drugged me so I was unable to do anything about it." The elf who had spoken before spoke again. "Aragorn, that will have to wait until we are all out of here," he said, handing the ranger one of the elven cloaks while his companion fastened the other around the elven prince's shoulders. Legolas looked up at the elf's voice. "Bregosir?" he whispered weakly. The elf nodded. "Yes, ernil nin," he replied. "Hurry, Aragorn," he continued. "We don't have much time. Get your things. This cloak will hide you as we leave."

********

"Look!" Tirin whispered, pointing to four figures coming toward them. "It's them!" He and Feinlas rushed forward to meet the four. They were, indeed, Aragorn, Legolas, Bregosir and Glaslir. Just as Tirin and Feinlas reached them, Legolas collapsed. Aragorn reached out to catch him before he hit the ground. The human gathered the prince in his arms. "We must get to the palace quickly!" he said urgently. "Si boe na I ernil dulu adar nin. I cannot heal him on my own." He started carrying Legolas through the trees, away from the bandits' lair. Legolas moaned. Aragorn looked up. "By the way," he asked. "You didn't happen to bring a couple sets of extra clothes with you, by any chance?"

********

It was late when the patrols returned to the palace, bringing Aragorn and Legolas with them. Thranduil and Elrond were at the gates, waiting for them. Estel transferred the prince to his father's arms. Legolas clung to Thranduil, weeping the tears he could no longer hold back. Aragorn turned to his father. "Ada," he whispered. "You'll have to heal him, it is beyond my skill. I've cleaned and bandaged the wounds on his body, but there are other wounds that I don't know how to treat. Wounds to his fea. I'm not sure if he'll ever be the same again." With that, he started crying inconsolably. "Oh, Ada," he choked out. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't been careless, none of this would have happened!"

********

Aragorn left the next day, leading a strong force of elves, both from Mirkwood and Rivendell. He needed to stop the bandits before they struck the envoys from Esgaroth and Laketown. And he needed to bring them to justice. No one did to an elf what they'd done to Legolas. However, his job was merely to bring them to his father and Thranduil, not to execute justice himself. They would die, he knew. After all, they were thrice worthy of it. He thought back to Thirel's sad smile when Aragorn had spoken of avenging himself on Legolas and the horrified look on his face as he spoke of what they had done to Legolas. Thirel was the one member of that group who had a heart left. Estel decided he would put a word in for him at then trial. He was sure the man had nothing to do with Legolas' torment.

********

Legolas woke to see Elrond gazing down at him. The prince looked away. "Legolas, neth er," the elf lord asked. "What is it?" Legolas closed his eyes. "Istich" he whispered. Elrond nodded. "Iston," he murmured. 'But I do not blame you." At that, Legolas looked up at him. "You don't?" he whispered, hardly daring to hope for that. "No, I don't," the peredhil replied. "Neither does your father. You didn't know they would do it. It is not your fault You are a brave elven prince, Legolas. One who would give even his own life for a friend. That is nothing to be ashamed of."

********

When Aragorn returned half a week later, he was surprised to see Legolas waiting at the gates of the palace to meet him. The prince was almost completely healed physically, and his fea, while still far from healed, was much improved since Aragorn's departure. The two friends embraced as Aragorn entered the palace courtyard. Aragorn leaned over and whispered something in Legolas' ear as they headed to the council room. The prince smothered a laugh. "Bregosir said what?!" he asked, incredulously. Aragorn's eyes twinkled as he repeated what he had told Legolas. "He told me to douse Glaslir and Tirin in the enchanted river!" the dunadan said. Legolas looked suspiciously at Estel. "What for?" he asked. "Oh, nothing really." the ranger shrugged his shoulders. "They had coated him with peppermint while he slept the night before." Legolas rolled his eyes at that. "That's not nothing, Strider!" he exclaimed. "Do you know how uncomfortable that is for an elf?" "Well, I do have two elfling brothers, don't I?" Estel asked. "Aragorn!" Legolas objected. "Your brothers are not elflings!" The ranger just smiled at that. "If they aren't elflings, they certainly act like they are!" he asserted. They proceeded to the council room in like manner.

Thranduil and Elrond watched the two from the elven king's window before making their own way down to the council room. "You'd never know anything had happened to him," Thranduil said, turning to Elrond. "Aragorn just has that in him. If given enough time together, your son will heal fully," Elrond replied. "The hands of a king are the hands of a healer. That goes for his heart as well. He knows his heritage now, but he doesn't understand the full impact that has. When he does, he will need our son's support as much as Legolas needs his now."

  
  


The End


End file.
